marksires

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Everything posted by marksires



  1. marksires added a post in a topic COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS   

    I've been very fortunate in life.  It hasn't been all roses, but overall I have nothing valid to complain about.  Life is good, and it beats the alternative.  Focus on what you have, not what you don't, and you'll always be happy.  When I was first married, we were eligible for food stamps (didn't need them, didn't take them), but today we live very well, still happy together after 35 years, two great kids, more vehicles than I can drive/fly, big house, etc.  There are people with a lot more, but unless one of my lottery tickets pays off, there always will be.  A lot of them don't seem all that happy to me, so I wouldn't trade with them.
    Mark
     
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  2. marksires added a post in a topic Been on the road again   

    F18's to Australia?  I'm reminded of the old joke about fighter jock and the C130 driver, where the fighter guy says 'watch this', then does some aileron rolls around the C130.  The C130 pilot says, oh yeah, watch this!  Then continues flying straight and level for about 20 minutes.  The fighter guy says, what was that, I didn't see anything.  The C130 guy responds, 'I got up, fixed a pizza, and took a dump'.
    Hopefully they were the new model F18's.  The originals you'd have needed a fleet of tankers with the F18 disconnecting from one and immediately lining up for the next one :-)
     
    Mark
     
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  3. marksires added a post in a topic KitFox IV, Rotax 912, Nose Gear on Barnstormers   

    Actually, you can.  Attached is the PDF.  Just a little swamp buggy, that's all 
     
    N20577.pdf
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  4. marksires added a topic in For Sale and wanted, you got it, I want it   

    KitFox IV, Rotax 912, Nose Gear on Barnstormers
    Looks nice from the pictures.
    http://www.barnstormers.com/ad_detail.php?ID=905368
     
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  5. marksires added a post in a topic Anyone ever use a sea doo engine?   

    Those are Rotax engines, but are generally V-Twins, single ignition. I would agree there is probably a reason, since you can buy an entire Sea Doo for about 1/2 the price of a 90hp Rotax airplane engine.
    Mark
     
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  6. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    And another 4 loads of fill to feather out the area in front of the apron so it looks less like a cliff diving location...... 
    Mark
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  7. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Mother nature is taking some pity on me this week.  We are getting some badly needed rain - 4 inches over the last 2 days so far.  It makes staring at the poured concrete easier while I wait the 2 weeks for it to cure enough to put a forklift on.
    Mark
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  8. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Even that wouldn't jam the door I got.  It goes straight up and down 1 foot closest to the ground:
    www.hpdoors.com
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  9. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    I lived in Illinois for years, I know exactly what you are describing.  No frost here though!  They did carry through all the rebar from the main pour about 2 feet into the apron pour area, then tied the apron pour rebar to those extensions, so the 2 are tied together pretty well.  No mesh anywhere in the slabs, all 1/2" rebar, properly up on chairs, not 'pulled up' during the pour.
    Ed - I don't want to talk about how much this is costing anymore!   Just the fill has cost almost as much as your footings and foundation....
    Mark
     
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  10. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    The apron was poured this morning, last of the concrete work.  2 weeks of curing, then I can get the building put up!  Woo Hoo!
    Played with the 'panoramic' option on my phone camera, works well, but makes the picture long and skinny if you don't zoom in.
     

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  11. marksires added a post in a topic The value of avid mk IV kit   

    From the sticker in the back, the Lambo must be powered by Mr. Fusion?  Does it have the new style flux capacitor, or the original? 
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  12. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Of course, how else could I make sure it was centered over a big one to use as my Zombie apocalypse hideout? :-)
    Mark
     
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  13. marksires added a post in a topic The value of avid mk IV kit   

    I'm not sure, horses may be even more expensive than that!  NOTHING is more expensive than horses as a hobby!
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  14. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    I'm planning to use concrete stain.  The existing hangar has it.  It looks like paint, but the can that was left in the hangar said concrete stain - it is gray and appears to be indestructible.  It was also on the screen room we recently converted.  We planned to put down tile, and thought the stain was too smooth for the thin set to get a good grip, so I rented a concrete floor grinder to take it up - it was not easy!
    Termite protection because I'll be storing stuff in it, some of it wood, some of it cardboard, all of which termites love.  I also have to build a firewall to partition off 500 square feet to meet stupid Florida building codes for 'residential hangars', which are limited to 2000 square feet.  I'm pretty sure it is a 'John Travolta' rule....  That will be wood and drywall, so termite treatment seemed like a good idea.  It was all of $225 for the underslab treatment, seemed like a no brainer to be honest.
    Mark
     
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  15. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    They had another couple of hours working it, so don't get worried about the lines in it, this was after the initial smoothing after there was finally enough concrete to fill the forms.
    Mark
     
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  16. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Concrete!!!
     

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  17. marksires added a post in a topic Prop Wanted   

    Looks like the original Peery prop, like I have on mine.  What's wrong with it?  It was pretty much perfect for the plane.
    Mark
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  18. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Jim,
    Yep, 70 something yards is what I got also.  Don't know the price per yard, I just got a price for the job from the contractor, but I'd guess around $150 a yard based on the job price.
    Mark
     
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  19. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    It's a lot more than $10 a yard now!   I figured up how many yards this was (50' x 50' x 6" with 16" deep x 8" wide at bottom then angle up to the surface footer around the perimeter, plus a 20' x 50' x 6" apron out front, but the number scared me so I immediately forgot it!
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  20. marksires added a post in a topic EFIS EZ 3.2   

    Rob,
    I see the compass tape at the top of the screen.  Is it GPS driven, or do you have a compass built in?  Most of the in flight units include a GPS for more than just GPS airspeed/altitude.  They fix some of the drift problems by comparing a calculated attitude with the sensed attitude based on the rate of change in altitude/direction.  And they use moments they calculate no attitude changes going on to 'recenter' the attitude bar.  That is why most of the certified (Dynon D1/D2, Garmin G5, etc) that don't have anything but a GPS for altitude/speed won't display attitude without a working GPS signal (the dreaded red 'X').  Without a GPS, you should be able to do the same thing from the pitot/static inputs if you have a compass to sense direction changes.
    But you probably knew all that already anyway!  :-)
    Mark
     
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  21. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Thanks for the tip!  Which picture you looking at though?  I don't see any sticking up in the last one.  The first one they were still working on it.  The concrete will be 6" thick, not 4", so more concrete on top anyway.  This isn't the first slab this contractor has done for me.  The other one was for a 24x35 shed with a 20' apron, still looks perfect 3 years later. 
    Mark
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  22. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Progress!
    I've been in town this entire year, couldn't get anything going.  This week I'm out of town on business (Las Vegas, but really, it is business!) so of course this is the week the concrete contractor gets open on the schedule to do my slab!  Nothing like ducking out of meetings to call the termite company to get the underslab treatment done, the electrician out to install the ground wire on the rebar, etc.
    I was hoping they could wait until Monday to pour the concrete, but the weather looks like rain (yea!) this weekend and Monday, so Friday is the planned day, assuming the inspection is done tomorrow and the forms pass.
     


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  23. marksires added a post in a topic Bad day for Icon today   

    More info here:
    http://www.flyingmag.com/icon-chief-test-pilot-killed-in-a5-crash?src=SOC&dom=tw
     
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  24. marksires added a post in a topic Bad day for Icon today   

    That little finger of the lake they crashed in didn't look like anyplace I'd want to be.  Very narrow, and any crosswind you could get rotors off the top of the hills on either side.  In any case it sucks, and show that no airplane is 'crash proof'.
    Mark
     
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  25. marksires added a post in a topic Finally starting new hangar!   

    Some pictures of progress.



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